208 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book Iir.

grand master, beseeching him over again to savethem, however much he hated the very idea of notpreferring death, and to recollect they were his faith-ful subjects, so did not deserve being abandoned afterhaving endured so much with constancy; that heshould no longer disdain to consider the enemy’soffers; that the city was more than half lost, andlittle but a heap of ruins; that a great part of itsinhabitants were already slain, and all the provi-sions and military stores exhausted. On which awarm debate ensued, the grand master still main-tainins; it Avere better to die Avith arms in theirhands, particularly his knights; yet even these,Avhen asked, replied that it AA r as a different thingin the actual case, where their death Avoulcl benot merely useless, but highly injurious to theirfellow Christians, on Avhoin it Avould draAv cIoavucertainty of their being cut to pieces, and theirfemales abused and made slaves, and numberlessother enormities from irritated barbarians; thatthis made a clear exception, and entirely super-seded laAvs, customs, desires of their oavo, and pro-fession, and rendered it their bounden duty tolisten to any' honourable conditions, even theharshest; that they had SAvorn to be ready? to diein arms for the benefit of Christendom, and hadgiven full proof of their Avish to be true to it; but